LEAD TIDBIT
B'CHOL DOR VADOR... HOW?
Be patient - this will tie in to Parshat Chukat... eventually. But let's start with the Seder. We have the command to tell our children the story of the Exodus. It could be just a "Once upon a time, a long time ago" kind of telling. After all, it happened over 3300 years ago. But we have the additional challenge of the title of this Lead Tidbit. We have to relive the experience. Telling a story of yesteryear is not enough. And reliving it includes personalizing and internalizing the experience. And, possibly, relating to some of our current situations to that long-ago experience. How can this be accomplished?

(Part of) the answer is MITZVOT. The Torah's mitzvot are for all generations. Mitzvot that are integrally linked to Biblical events help us with the B'CHOL DOR VADOR challenge. Having the mitzvot of Matza, Maror, Four Cups, Hagada, and discussing and commemorating Korban Pesach all combine to an important subconscious and conscious lesson: Mitzvot are for every generation: so is that which they remind us of, so is their context and background. Rabban Gamliel used to say: He who does not say (discuss) these three things, has not fulfilled his obligation.

Discussing the mitzvot of Pesach in the context of the Hagada, helps us properly fulfill the mitzva of V'HIGADTA L'VINCHA with its enhancement of B'CHOL DOR VADOR.

The mitzva of BIKURIM, and all the other Lad-related mitzvot - whether currently practiced, commemorated, or just studied - adds an important dimension to the episode of the Spies (as one example of many) that allows us to bring the episode of so long ago into our own time. If the mitzva is in perpetuity, so is the episode(s) linked to it. It's NOT like: because such-and- such happened a long time ago, we have to do this mitzva then, now, and for all time. No, it is more like: Because we have these mitzvot, that which happened then continues to echo throughout Jewish History, right into our time, and stays alive, rich with lessons for us here and now.

Korach's rebellion and the aftermath is a recurring story. The mitzvot of Parshat Korach are testimony to that. And more, they coax us to find the contemporary counterparts of the original stories, so that we can better relate to the mitzvot that are part of Jewish Life and Consciousness.
Para Aduma, Tum'at Meit (ritual impurity that derives from contact with a dead body), and their connection to Cheit HaEigel (Sin of the Golden Calf) help us update an ancient episode to its present-day versions - and do something constructive about them.

Mitzvot are alive and contemporary. History belongs in the past. But history that links to mitzvot stays alive and permits us to fulfill the very important challenge of B'CHOL DOR VADOR.

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